YAMAHA TCROSS HYPER MODIFIED

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Last year, Yamaha asked some of the world's most renowned motorcycle customizers to transform the TMAX into something that would fully express their personal style: The “TMAX Hyper Modified” project was born. With the creation of three unique and revolutionary vehicles – made by Roland Sands, Marcus Walz and Ludovic Lazareth – the TMAX had started into new and uncharted territory.

This year, the Hyper modified journey continues – now entering its fourth, and most astonishing chapter.

A team of Italian customizers brought together by the monthly lifestyle magazine Riders Italian Magazine (www.riders-online.it) have created what is perhaps the most astonishing and provocative version of this scooter we have ever seen.

The Yamaha TCROSS Hyper Modified is a radical version of the TMAX that has been fully stripped of its original superstructure and transformed into a vehicle with off-road style and spirit.
Working closely together, Riccardo Girardelli and Rodolfo Frascoli started by carefully analysing the standard Yamaha TMAX before launching the first phase of the project – stripping. They removed everything, only leaving the chassis, the engine and the forks on the workbench. The guidelines they established for building the new TMAX involved using the superstructure, fork and steering yoke from the Yamaha YZ450F motocross model, as well as off-road style wheels and tyres.

The next step was to place the YZ450F body onto the TMAX base. To combine the two bikes together they decided to lengthen the swinging arm in order to replace the 15-inch wheel with a 17-inch wheel. And to resolve the steering angle problem the steering head was disassembled, the steering angle reduced and the assembly re-welded. After this, a sub-frame had to be build to support the fuel tank and the seat. Finally the brakes, the exhaust (that uses the end piece from theYZ450F) and the big, spoked wheels were designed, giving the unit a real enduro look. And to finish off the unit, all plastic parts were painted brown, which has never been seen on an off-road bike, but contrasts sharply with the white parts on the standard model.

“It was time to start the engine and see if our extensive and exciting work would give the expected results. Everything worked fantastically, and each component functioned perfectly. The engine started without hesitation, with a muffled sound that hinted that even the slightest bit of throttle would have it change its tone. And that's what happened”, explains Girardelli.